Enemies

Status

Media Information

Debut

Latest Appearance

Voice Actor

Lord Hordak was the leader of the Horde forces on Etheria and the main antagonist in the series. However, he became a secondary antagonist after the existence of Horde Prime is confirmed. When Horde Prime arrived at Etheria in the Season 4 finale, he was sent to be "reconditioned" by Prime. After Horde Prime was destroyed, he regained his free will and was purified by She-Ra so he was reunited with Entrapta, his first real friend and later girlfriend after the final battle.

Contents

Appearance

What Hordak used to look like.

Lord Hordak is shown to be menacing and intimidating in appearance. He may be designed to resemble a bat or a vampire, evident by sharp teeth, bat-like ears, and the bat-like wings present in his clone embryos. Unlike Horde Prime and the other clones who all have white hair and green eyes, teeth, and mouth, Hordak has blue hair and red eyes, teeth, and mouth. Horde Prime's official picture of him shows that he had dark blue hair since before he ended up on Etheria. He has a white, skull-like face, black eye rims, and eyelids, and his dark blue hair resembles a Mohawk or undercuts, which is combed back. It would later be tousled to one side during Season Three and continues to stay that way.

While he appears tall and muscular, when his armor comes off, Hordak appears actually to be rather frail. This accounts for his desire to remain in his own quarters, and why he rejects its visitors. The majority of Hordak's skin is a blue-gray color, including his legs, hands, and most of his torso, while the rest is white. The two colors are separated by dark scarring. His forearms have holes between the bones, which could either be a part of his species' anatomy, a result of his physical decay, or even his cloning defect. There are metal holes in various parts of his body where his suit attaches to him, keeping his body together.

After Entrapta makes him a new suit, he appears healthier and somewhat younger. He no longer has a hood or cape shrouding his appearance and making him look larger. His suit now also has a crystal on the collar bone, which reads "LUVD" in First Ones' language. It is unclear whether or not Hordak, or even Entrapta, are aware of this feature.

After he was "Reconditioned" His appearance resembled the rest of Horde Prime's clones.

Personality

Lord Hordak is the leader of the Horde on Etheria. He is portrayed as the main villain, despite a few appearances Season One. In Season Two, more of his past and personality are revealed. In Season Three, we learn that he is a clone of Horde Prime, who is the emperor of the space-faring Horde Army.

Hordak is shown to be a somewhat detached pragmatist, showing no direct distress to Adora's defection. His only concern was that she had intimate knowledge of the Horde, which would make her a potential threat. He also makes Catra Force Commander in Adora's place without skipping a beat. He becomes angry with Shadow Weaver for her insubordination but gives Catra increased power as her victories add up, eventually making her his second-in-command and imprisoning Shadow Weaver. Furthermore, Hordak starts angrily at Entrapta for coming into his Sanctum but quickly forgives her when she fixes the machine he was working on. He likes her extremely useful scientific support, even starting to look pass her status as a Princess.

He has also shown to be rather cautious, as he told Catra to execute Shadow Weaver on the grounds that if Shadow Weaver escaped, she too could become an enemy with detailed knowledge of the Horde. However, unlike many cartoon villains, Hordak has shown a willingness to forgive his subordinates, provided they are honest with him. This is shown when he talks to Catra after Shadow Weavers escape, asking if his order to execute her had been carried out. Catra lies, saying yes, and this makes Hordak angry, telling Catra that, through Imp, he already knew of Shadow Weaver's escape. He had tested Catra, offering her the opportunity to come clean, and suggesting that had Catra done so, she wouldn't have been punished.

Hordak can be a rather open individual, but thus far is only willing to speak freely with Entrapta. He told Entrapta that there were other planets, all of which were leagues ahead of Etheria in terms of technology, without any real prompting. He also often speaks of Etheria with a long lamenting sigh in his voice, saying that Etheria was a "backward" and "backwater planet" as if conquering Etheria was an assignment he didn't want to do. Entrapta has been the only person he grows to trust completely as he reveals his past to her and helps him when building the portal machine. After Entrapta builds him a new suit, he struggles to show his appreciation especially after she tells him how she sees beauty in imperfection, something he had considered himself to be his entire life. With how open he became with Entrapta, it is hinted that Hordak, and even Entrapta, were starting to see each other as something more than lab partners. Others, especially Catra, take notice of how open and even emotional he's been with Entrapta which leads to Catra using this against him by saying Entrapta betrayed him during Season 3. Of all the people who have lied or turned on him, the anger spurred by the loss of Entrapta is unlike his anger towards any other character, as he has never trusted anyone, or considered them to be a friend, the way he did with her. In Season Four, he is shown to be affected and deeply hurt by her "betrayal" as he is quick to rage at the mention of her name. He was even embarrassed when Imp repeated her name in his own voice over and over again, an emotion he had never shown prior to this scene. After discovering the truth about Entrapta, and coming to terms with the fact she was likely dead, his anger quickly turned to sadness for not seeing through Catra's lies and he was brought to tears once he was alone. He goes after Catra, seeking revenge for what she did to Entrapta and for leading him to believe that he could put his trust in her.

In Season Four's final episodes, more of Hordak's personality is revealed. Hordak wasn't given a name, and it is revealed that he named himself. He dreamed of standing beside Horde Prime, but also harbored a temporary desire for him to be gone due to Entrapta's influence. In short, Hordak is a clone who had begun to develop individuality, something Horde Prime wasn't keen on. Upon his reprogramming, he lost any personal development he might have had, making the person that was "Hordak" effectively gone.

In Season Five, Hordak is able to regain select memories he lost after stumbling upon the crystal Entrapta used to power his armor prior to his reconditioning. Throughout the season, he uses it much like an anchor, hiding it from Horde Prime while trying to decipher the significance it holds to him. After a chance encounter with Entrapta by a Galactic Horde spire, he is able to recognize her and asks her what she has done to him that causes him to subconsciously stray from the beliefs Horde Prime instilled in him. She reminds him in this scene that his imperfections are something to be celebrated, to which he stares at her dumbfounded. At the end of the series, Hordak is able to gather the strength to turn against and temporarily overpower Horde Prime with the support of Entrapta.

Powers and abilities

Alien Physiology: In the episode "Signals", Hordak talked to Catra inside some sort of energy field which temporarily altered the atmosphere inside, and asked Catra how her breathing was. Catra started coughing and her vision got blurry, suggesting oxygen deprivation. As Hordak was in the field with her and suffered no negative effects, it's possible he doesn't require as much oxygen as a normal Etherian. In an earlier episode "Princess Prom", Scorpia stated that the Horde crash-landed in what is now the Fright Zone, suggesting that the Horde are aliens, possibly from another part of the Dimension of Despondos. The fact that Hordak calls Etheria a "backward planet" supports this theory. However, as all other members of the Horde shown are Etherian recruits, Hordak has remained the only true member of the Horde race shown. As of Season 3, it is confirmed that Hordak is from a space-faring race of aliens.

Technology proficiency: Hordak has a brilliant technical mind. One of the best-shown instances of this is his building a power source for a machine to open a portal. He is apparently not as intelligent as Entrapta, and is often frustrated to the point of giving up, however, he did manage to improve Is Exo-Suit without her help when he was motivated by Catra.

Equipment

Lord Hordak's powers and abilities are unknown in Season 1. It is only shown that he has control over the entire Horde, including Shadow Weaver, although this may be more out of intimidation than any kind of magical or technological sway.

Relationships

Horde Prime is Hordak's creator/"older brother". Even after Horde Prime declared him defective and sent him on a suicide mission that ultimately left him stranded on Etheria, his loyalty to the Horde did not waver. He continued trying to conquer the planet to prove to Horde Prime that he is worthy. However, when working on the portal with Entrapta, she talks about the two taking their time instead of rushing to complete it. Instead of reminding her that this could be his only chance to prove himself to Horde Prime, he stays quiet and smiles at her. It seems at this moment his loyalty started to waver as he was considering delaying the portal if it meant he could spend more time with Entrapta. When they were reunited Prime has trouble seeing his thoughts but soon discovers Hordak had given himself a name and sees there was a time he wished Prime wouldn't come for him, most likely referring to his conversation with Entrapta. Prime was ultimately unimpressed by Hordak's efforts and called him an "abomination." He sends Hordak to be "reconditioned."

During the events of Season 5, Hordak's memories were wiped and he was redistributed back into the hive mind. Due to his lack of memory, he followed orders blindly, but after recovering what seems like most of his memories and being ordered to execute Entrapta, he turns his cannon on him instead. He states, before hurling the other outside of his own raised sanctuary, that he has become his own person and would no longer serve him.

Imp is shown as the loyal pet of Lord Hordak. He is often sent by Hordak to spy on Shadow Weaver and the rest of the Horde members. He is shown to have the ability to record and play audio. Not much is known about their relationship or how Hordak found or met Imp. It's more than likely he found Imp after he arrived in Etheria as Imp was not shown or mention when Hordak was telling Entrapta his past. On multiple occasions Hordak has been seen petting or scratching Imp and Imp is sitting or holding onto his shoulder. Imp shows concern for Hordak's health such as when he collapses after they caught Entrapta, who snuck back into the lab. Before Entrapta knew about his body, Imp seems to have been the only one allowed to see him without his armor. Imp also notices how Hordak acts and behaves around Entrapta as he kicked his foot assign for Hordak to keep expressing his gratitude towards Entrapta after she made him a new suit.

It's been hinted that Imp has grown fond of Entrapta as Hordak and her spend time working on the portal together despite Entrapta and Imp having very little interaction with one another. Imp has screeched at Catra to leave the two alone and when Hordak, later on, screams for her to leave, Imp grabs her hair and gently pulls away with a concerned look. After Entrapta's "betrayal" Hordak had made it clear he didn't want to hear her name ever again but after saying it himself, Imp starts to repeat her name in Hordak's voice which causes Hordak to be embarrassed and furious at him. Despite this, all Hordak does is throw a surge device at him as a warning to stop saying her name. Imp seems rather annoyed when he does this but nonetheless remains faithful to Hordak even when his temper gets the better of him. As Imp was not with Hordak when Horde Prime took him, Imp is more than likely still in the Fright Zone and is unaware that Hordak was sent to be "reconditioned" and has lost his memories of Imp as well.

The two were not reunited in Season 5 as Imp was taken in by Lonnie, Rogelio, and Kyle while Hordak was in space with Horde Prime.

Hordak brought a baby Adora to the Fright Zone and was going to put her with the other orphans when Shadow Weaver convinced him to let her keep the baby. Hordak's opinion of Adora improved over the years, leading to his decision to make her a Force Captain. When Adora leaves, he seems to care very little about it and he becomes her sworn enemy. When she was captured in Season 3, he stated that he could not lie to her about who she was because he considered her to be inconsequential. Adora believed it was Hordak who stole her from her family and this added to her anger towards him and the Horde. She would later realize it was actually Light Hope and not Hordak who took her, but this doesn't change her plans on wanting to stop the Horde.

In Season 5, Adora frees Hordak of Horde Prime's control, and Hordak states he remembers her. Before the two could continue talking, Entrapta runs in to hug him, leaving Adora to leave the two to catch up. It's implied at the moment the two have put aside their complicated history as both played a role in taking down Horde Prime.

Hordak welcomed Shadow Weaver to the Fright Zone after she betrayed Mystacor and the sorcerers. He made her second-in-command after she proved herself useful. She is shown to be afraid of him at times especially if she failed him, which is something Catra picked up on. He also gave her the Runestone of Scorpia's family, the Black Garnet. Hordak's opinion of Shadow Weaver began to fall after she constantly disobeyed his orders regarding the re-capturing of Adora. Shadow Weaver claims she now hates Hordak and the Horde, wanting nothing more than their destruction, after they were going to send her to Beast Island.

During the beginning of Season 1, Catra was shown to be afraid of Hordak but as the season goes on, he is shown to be taking a liking to Catra, making her Force Captain after Adora's defection, and later - after the fall of Shadow Weaver - second-in-command.

Hordak motivated by Catra.

However, during Season 2, Hordak begins losing faith in her. When she tried lying about Shadow Weavers' escape, Hordak ultimately subjected Catra to his atmosphere alteration device as punishment. In Season 3, Catra is less afraid of him and goes as far as calling him a coward when he was going to sentence her. Although he wanted Catra eliminated, he sent her to the Crimson Waste after Entrapta convinced him not to send her to Beast Island. Though he still believed she wouldn't make it back alive. When Catra lies about Entrapta betraying him he is quick to feel rage and doubts Catra before she reminds him that Entrapta was a princess, meaning he never should have trusted her as she would only use him.

Catra ends their partnership.

In Season 4, the two start off at odds after the portal, and Hordak lashes out at her when she mentions Entrapta, who he still believes betrayed him. Catra ensures Hordak won't find out about Entrapta, realizing if he found out the truth he would dispose of her. She goes as far as removing his crystal and proving to him that she could take him out unless they started to change their plans and bring down The Rebellion. The two work together to expand the Horde's territory and he starts to acknowledge her as his partner. When struggling to complete a weapon without Entrapta's help, Catra boldly states he needs to get over her and how the two of them don't need a princess in their lives telling them what to do and don't need anyone at all. This helps Hordak finish the weapon and bring down Salineas but their partnership would not last after he discovers that not only had she been lying to him about Entrapta but she had also sent her to Beast Island. After discovering this and now believing Entrapta is dead, he searches for Catra and is determined to destroy her, even if it results in destroying parts of the Fright Zone in the process. He promises once he's done with her, she'll face a harsher punishment from Horde Prime, only for Catra to remind him that Horde Prime declared him a defect. Their battle ends with Catra as the victor.

In Season 5, Horde Prime reveals to Catra that when reviewing Hordak's memories of Catra, he had very little love for her given how they parted. However, after Hordak has been reconditioned and still retains the ability to call Catra by her name, she reveals to find comfort in seeing him.

During the events of Season 1, Hordak and Entrapta have very little interactions but he accepts her into the Horde since she was a skilled scientist and was impressed with her work on the Black Garnet and knowledge of First Ones Tech.

Hordak confused after he failed to scare Entrapta away.

In Season 2, he catches Entrapta in his sanctum, attempting to help him after a failed experiment, and demands she leaves but instead continues which confuses him. After she leaves, he tells her there will be consequences for breaking in but he sees that she fixed the problem with his experiment. She then surprises him by coming right back in and starts to question and put together what he was trying to do.

Entrapta reminding Hordak that she is the one who helped him after he insults her and refuses to tell her what he's doing.

Even after insulting her and saying that someone from a backwater planet would never understand, she argues back that she was the one to help him and wants to know everything he's doing. Seeing her curiosity and even excitement when discovering he's from another world he decides to let her stay and aid him with his experiments. Entrapta refers to herself as Hordak's lab partner and was excited when he told Catra he wanted her assistance. He becomes very angry in situations where Catra interrupts their work while Catra starts to see he's valuing Entrapta's contributions to his experiments. It doesn't take long for Catra and other members to see that Entrapta has become his favorite.

Hordak telling Catra to thank Entrapta.

In the events of Season 3, Hordak and Entrapta are shown to have gotten closer and it has been heavily implied the two started to grow feelings for one another. When working, Hordak starts to feel pain but hides it from Entrapta as he refuses for anyone to see him weak. When telling her that Catra would be sent to Beast Island, Entrapta argues that they need her. In frustration, he yells at Entrapta and she decides to leave instead of continuing the argument. Hordak changes his mind and decides to send Catra to The Crimson Waste instead and tells Catra that she should be thanking Entrapta.

Hordak smiling at Entrapta as the portal starts to function.

When testing the portal, Hordak was smiling at Entrapta as the portal seems to be working until it fails and explodes. When Entrapta runs to shut the portal down, Hordak quickly grabs her arm to stop her and then shields her from the blast with his body. Protecting her would result in his own injuries and Entrapta would be unaware of this as she tries to figure out what went wrong with the portal. As Entrapta starts planning for their next trial, he angrily tells her the portal is a failure and they're done. She attempts to reason with him only for him to scream at her to leave. She only does so when Imp and Emily come to her and pull her away.

Entrapta attempting to feed Hordak to make him feel better.

Later on, Hordak is having his armor removed and is unaware that Entrapta came back to talk to him. When seeing his body without the armor, she attempts to leave but is caught which results in him attempting to yell at her but only to collapse on the ground. Entrapta runs to him and when he wakes up, he is still on the floor but sitting up with a blanket wrapped around him. Entrapta returns with little cups of soups and even attempts to feed him, hoping he'll feel better. Not only does he refuse to eat but he also refuses to talk to her about him collapsing when he sees she's smiling and staring at him.

Hordak shocked as Entrapta orders him to tell her what's happening to him.

When he attempts to stand, he almost collapses again, only for Entrapta to catch him and then see that his body needs the armor, as it makes him stable. When he tells her that it's none of her concern she demands and even yells at him to tell her everything as she won't stop until she knows. He is shocked by her seriousness and determination before getting furious and tells her that not only is he a clone of Horde Prime but he is also a defect and was cast out because of this. Once he's done telling her his story, Entrapta immediately goes to build him a new suit fashioning him a new one out of First Ones tech. Unknown to him, the suit contains a crystal with First Ones writing, which spells out "LUVD" (Loved).

Entrapta stating imperfection is beautiful to her and Hordak is surprised by this.

Entrapta consoles him when he laments about being inferior, and explains that she believes there is beauty and value in failure. When stating she finds imperfection to be beautiful, he is stunned by her words and then struggles to reciprocate her kindness verbally. He tells Entrapta that anyone who believes she is a failure (as she claims herself to be, although she seems to mean it in a positive way) are fools. Entrapta thanks him and states she enjoys being his friend and the two smile at each other. It's been noted that his appearance changes as he spends time with Entrapta. His hair is no longer entirely pulled back anymore as it once was and he even looks healthier because of the new suit she created for him. This is possibly due to Hordak opening himself up and becoming his own person the more time he spends with Entrapta as she is the only person he's ever trusted with his past and insecurities.

Hordak and Entrapta realizing their time together will be short.

With his new suit, Hordak is testing his limits while Entrapta watches in excitement and states his armor might be her best work yet. Despite overdoing it which causes his arm to hurt him, he is shown to be very pleased with her work and newfound strength. The two then talk about working on the portal again and Entrapta realizes that when Horde Prime arrives, Hordak will be leaving with him. Hordak stays quiet when she mentions this and looks disappointed. Entrapta was noticeably saddened by the thought but then states that the two aren't in a hurry and could take as long as they need to make sure the portal is perfect. Instead of arguing or telling her they must hurry, Hordak smiles at Entrapta as she smiles back at him. This heavily implies that Hordak wanted to spend more time with Entrapta even if it meant the portal, a project he has been working on for many years and one that could be his only chance to prove himself to Horde Prime, would be delayed.

Hordak's last interaction with Entrapta.

When Catra returns from The Crimson Waste, she brings them She-Ra's sword which makes the two realize that not only was it the key for the portal but now the portal could be completed. The two look at each other before looking away as Entrapta goes to find out how they can use the sword. As Adora is held prisoner, him and Entrapta continue to work and when she boldly states she has no idea how to use the sword with the portal, he smiles in amusement. However, when Hordak and Adora start talking and he falls to his knees do to pain again, Entrapta immediately drops the sword to rush to his side. Although he stands up with no issue he snaps at Entrapta in frustration after she placed her hair on his shoulder to comfort him. After he leaves, Entrapta is shown to be hurt and even scared by his outburst for the first time during their time together.

Hordak furious at Catra for laughing at him for trusting Entrapta.

This was their last interaction before Catra betrayed Entrapta and sent her to Beast Island. When Hordak comes back he's amazed that Entrapta was able to figure out how to use the sword and ask Catra to bring Entrapta, not wanting to activate the portal without her. Catra lies and tells him Entrapta allowed the princesses into the Fright Zone. He is shocked and furious hearing this, even slamming his fist into the console. Immediately afterward, he hesitantly says that Entrapta would never betray him. Catra laughs and mocks him for trusting Entrapta before reminding him that she is a princess and she would use anyone to get what she wanted, including him. With the portal ready, Hordak could now open it but seems to be distracted and even hesitant after hearing about Entrapta. In the end, as the portal is breaking apart Hordak has his hand over his crystal while looking at his life's work, which was only accomplished with Entrapta's help, be destroyed.

Hordak never wants to hear Entrapta's name again.

Throughout Season 4, there are no scenes between the two as Entrapta is on Beast Island but Hordak is shown to be taking Entrapta's "betrayal" hard and gets angry whenever he hears her name being mentioned. Catra finds him sitting alone in his sanctum with the remaining pieces of the portal. When she mentions how Entrapta was the one to let the princesses into the Fright Zone he goes as far as throwing a large piece of debris at her before angrily reminding her that she is not allowed to say her name in his presence. Hordak has also ordered Catra and Scorpia to throw out all of Entrapta's belongings.

Imp repeating Entrapta's name in Hordak's voice.

When examining a damage bot that was brought back to him, he questions if it was Entrapta's work that destroyed it. Saying her name out loud, Imp starts to repeat her name in Hordak's voice. At first, Hordak is embarrassed before getting annoyed and throwing the surge device at Imp. It's implied that Imp is aware of Hordak's feelings towards Entrapta as he has been around the two for quite some time. Although Imp knows how Hordak gets when he hears her name he still does it, seemly just to tease him. It's likely Imp has done this before as Hordak does not seem entirely surprised by this and is mostly annoyed (and embarrassed) as he continues to say her name.

Hordak does not want to be reminded that Entrapta is a traitor.

When hitting a dead end with a weapon based on Entrapta's research, Hordak states he needs her notes in order to finish but Catra reminds him that Entrapta is a traitor. He angrily yells at her that he already knows this. When Catra fails to give him Entrapta's recordings, he furiously pushes everything off the table. Catra tells him to get over it and states he never needed Entrapta. She reminds him of what he was able to accomplish without her help such as building an empire and he doesn't need a princess in his life telling him what to do. He had lost his confidence in his work after Entrapta's "betrayal" but after speaking to Catra he is able to finish the weapon on his own. After conquering Salineas, he tells Catra that he wishes to stay in the frontlines before telling her that Entrapta is the only princess he has yet to face in battle. While he laughs at the fact he has yet to see her, most likely believing she's hiding from him, he is still shown to care about her dispute his anger and is only staying on the frontlines because he wants to see her.

Hordak finding out Entrapta wasn't at Bright Moon.

When Double Trouble enters his sanctum as Adora, they state how they are aware no one is allowed in his sanctum ever since he let Entrapta in. Double Trouble then changes their hair into Entrapta's large purple pigtail look which catches Hordak off guard. First in shock and even sadness before his emotions quickly change to rage. Double Trouble was pleased to see the reaction they got from Hordak. When Double Trouble reverts back to their original look, they state how they were interested in meeting Entrapta at Bright Moon but as Hordak already knows, she wasn't there. Hordak is confused and worried as to why Entrapta wouldn't be in Bright Moon.

Hordak brought to tears after finding out the truth about Entrapta.

Double Trouble then tells Hordak he no longer needs to "pretend" not to know that Catra had sent Entrapta to Beast Island. Double Trouble acts as though this was all Hordak's doing and says he was an amazing actor for pretending to be hurt by Entrapta's betrayal all this time. When Double Trouble leaves, Hordak loses his temper and is overcome with rage that he destroys his sanctum and before crying, believing that Entrapta is dead as no one returns from Beast Island. Unknown to him, Entrapta had returned to Bright Moon after being found on the island, completely unharmed, and would be heading towards the Fright Zone with Bow.

Horde Prime realizing Hordak has changed.

Hordak attempts to destroy Catra, while also damaging the Fright Zone, for what she did to Entrapta and for lying to him all this time. However, he loses the fight and his crystal is taken away by Catra. In the end, Horde Prime takes him back but states that Hordak was different as he could not read him. He discovers that not only had Hordak given himself a name but reveals there was a time Hordak wished Horde Prime wouldn't come for him. It's implied Horde Prime is referring to when Entrapta was telling Hordak there was no rush to finish the portal as Horde Prime had his hand over where his crystal used to be. Seeing him as more of a failure than ever, Horde Prime decided to "reconditioned" Hordak.

Hordak finds the "LUVD" crystal.

At the start of Season 5, Hordak has been turned into a servant for Horde Prime and seems to have lost his memories but not entirely. Unknown to him, Entrapta and her friends arrived on the ship and when seeing a clone that looked like him, she approached him in hopes it was him. Entrapta revealed to have found the "LUVD" crystal sometime before leaving Etheria but after the clone attacked her, she dropped it. After the battle with She-Ra, the clones would be cleaning up the mess and Hordak would find the crystal and remember Entrapta's name but does not remember who she was. He keeps the crystal with him and soon starts to regain his memory of her but still struggles to understand why she is important to him.
After being stationed on Etheria, Hordak would find Entrapta searching for a signal. He grabs her wrist and pins her to a rock, demanding to know why she is there and why he knows her face. This confirms Entrapta's suspicion of him being Hordak and not another clone. After calling him Hordak, he begs her to stop and states he is nothing more than a clone with no name. He then shows her the crystal and asks what she did to him, seeing his memories of her as making him imperfect. Entrapta is relieved to see Hordak is remembering her and the two share a moment before Swift Wind comes in to protect Entrapta, thinking she was going to be attacked. He watches her be taken away and steps forward to go after her but decides against it, wishing instead the memories of her would leave him as they make him imperfect and no use to Horde Prime. Entrapta then reminds him that his imperfections are what make him beautiful, stunning him with her words just as she did the first time she said them.

Hordak looks at Entrapta after turning against Horde Prime.

During the final battle, Horde Prime summons Entrapta into his sanctuary, interrupting her attempt at cracking into the hive mind, and Hordak looks at her with worry. After she continuously hounds Horde Prime for his actions, Horde Prime orders Hordak to execute Entrapta and although he points his weapon at her, he soon breaks free and attacks Horde Prime instead. Crushing Horde Prime's lifelong influence on how he views himself under his heel, he is able to temporarily overpower Horde Prime, declaring he has given himself a name, made a life of his own, and made his first real friend, Entrapta. These things are what give him the free will to defy his creator, throwing him off the edge of his own sanctuary. This victory is short-lived as Horde Prime possesses Hordak's body, who he now views as being beyond redemption, and takes Entrapta as his hostage.

Hordak and Entrapta's final scene.

After the final battle, Adora arrives to expel Horde Prime from Hordak's body, banishing him forever. As Adora helps Hordak to his feet, Entrapta immediately runs into his arms and hugs him. As Entrapta starts to express how happy she is and how they have a lot to catch up on, he is seen with a genuine smile. The two are last seen walking together with her arms around his, talking and laughing together as Mermista questions their relationship. It is implied the two formed a romantic relationship after the battle.

Hordak crash-landed in Scorpia's homeland when he fell through the portal. He made the Fright Zone his base of operations and accepted The Black Garnet, Scorpia's family runestone as a gift. Scorpia grew up in The Horde and follows Hordak and all leadership without much question. The first time she defied Hordak is when she tried to free Catra from her prison cell in Season 3. In Season 4, she left the Horde and sided with the other princesses. Any memories of Scoripa and her family were erased after Hordak was "reconditioned." What his interaction with Scorpia herself was like is largely ambiguous.

In fairness, Scorpia's interactions with Hordak was fairly minimal. Though they have been seen on-screen at the same time, Hordak has never interacted with her on-screen. Further, when attempting to interrogate a Horde Clone, Bow asks if Hordak talked as much. Scorpia recounts that Hordak mostly just growled and told people to 'get out'.

History

Past

Hordak was one of the many clones of Horde Prime that was created to lead the Horde army. He became Horde Prime's top general, but his body had a defect, so Horde Pride sent him on a suicide mission. After falling through a portal, he ended up stranded on Etheria. With nothing but his broken ship, he built his own division of the Horde. He planned to eventually build a portal so he could bring the rest of the Horde forces to the planet, so they could conquer it and prove that Horde Prime was wrong about him.

A time frame around when the crash occurred isn't explicitly mentioned, but it has been increasingly implied to be rather recent. Light Spinner, before she became Shadow Weaver, is seen talking with other mages on confronting the Horde. This occurs when Glimmer's father Micah was still a student. Micah died in the defeat that ended the First Princesses Alliance. Bow's father, George a mature but young man, stated he was a part of the very first Princess Alliance, as a fighter. Scorpia also says that her family gave Hordak the Black Garnet, implying she was alive when this happened. This means that Hordak has been on Etheria for, at best, 40 years or so.

Hordak was also successful in convincing Scorpia's family to part with their runestone, the Black Garnet. Hordak then gave Shadow Weaver permission to use the runestone for her own purposes.

It was assumed that Hordak was successful in opening a portal back to his dimension once bringing a First One from the Planet Eternia - Adora. This was later revealed to false when Light Hope admitted she was the one that brought Adora to Etheria, implying she must have done it at the same time Hordak was conducting his portal experiment. Hordak then let Shadow Weaver take the infant to raise her.

In one episode, Hordak says that the atmosphere of Etheria was interfering with his experiments, and he has a way to fix it. When he and Catra are both inside the atmosphere manipulation machine, he suffers no negative effects while casually asking Catra how her breathing is. Catra, for her part, is on her knees coughing and gasping. It's also shown that Catra is having a blurry vision; all signs of suffocation and oxygen deprivation. Wherever Hordak is from, the oxygen in the air must be considerably less dense, and that the relatively high oxygen content of Etheria's air is causing malfunctions in his technology.

Hordak is first mentioned in the series' very first episode, "The Sword: Part 1", when Shadow Weaver tells Adora that he has been watching her, and has decided to make her a Force Captain.

Hordak before stepping out of the shadows.

Hordak then makes his official on-screen debut in "Razz", when Shadow Weaver brings Catra to him, for her failure to bring Adora back. When Shadow Weaver offers to track down and bring Adora back to the Fright Zone, Hordak refuses. He simply orders her to appoint a new Force Captain and resume normal operations. When Shadow Weaver proclaims that Adora is the only viable candidate for Force Captain, Hordak points out Catra. Shadow Weaver states Catra is a disappointment, but Hordak states she has no one to blame but herself if Catra is not a suitable replacement. Hordak then shuts Shadow Weaver down when she attempts to protest further, stating he has made his decision, and then hands over the Force Captain badge to Catra himself - which she gladly accepts.

In the next episode, "Flowers for She-Ra", Hordak contacts Shadow Weaver via one of her inner sanctum's screens, telling her that she has disobeyed his orders. When Shadow Weaver denies this, stating that "her will is his will," Hordak asks her why she requested more troops to look for Adora, who he calls "one missing soldier." When Shadow Weaver starts to claim that finding Adora is crucial to the Horde's mission, Hordak quickly cuts her off by slamming his fist on his throne. He reminds Shadow Weaver that their mission is to destroy the Whispering Woods, so they can finally march on Bright Moon. He reiterates their mission is to destroy the Princesses of Etheria and their "ridiculous" Rebellion. Hordak tells Shadow Weaver that she's distracted, and orders her to give the order to increase power at the siege of the Kingdom of Plumeria until victory is achieved, which he believes has carried on for too long. Before ending the conversation, Hordak reminds Shadow Weaver that he is the one who gave her her magical powers and can easily take them away.

In "The Beacon" he lets Entrapta improve the Horde's machinery, and does nothing when Catra severs Shadow Weaver's connection to the Black Garnet.

Hordak reveals to Entrapta that there are other planets more technologically advanced than Etheria and that he thinks Etheria is a "backwater planet." Scorpia tells Catra that the Horde crash-landed in what is now the Fright Zone, confirming that Hordak is foreign to the planet of Etheria.

In a flashback, Hordak is seen returning from somewhere, presumably from Adora's family or birthplace, with an infant Adora. Hordak is clearly exhausted or frustrated and sits heavily on his throne. He tells Shadow Weaver to take the baby Adora away, as he is clearly irritated by her crying.

Hordak tests Catra about Shadow Weaver's escape when Catra lies and says she was sent Beast Island as he instructed. He punished her with his gravity generation device.

Hordak and Entrapta continue to work on the portal machine together and it has been hinted that the two have started to developed feelings for each other during this process. He reveals his space-faring, clone origins to Entrapta, who then upgrades his armor with First Ones tech, making it more like an exoskeleton. After trying to find a way to thank her, Entrapta states she's happy to be his friend to which he replies with a smile. They work on fixing the portal machine, but a final key is missing. When Entrapta realizes that Hordak would leave with Horde Prime once he arrived, she starts saying that the two aren't in a rush and could just focus on collecting data until it was perfect. Hordak would remain silent at her statement and the two would smile at each other before Catra and Scorpia return from Crimson Waste. Catra comes back with Adora and her sword, which turns out to be the key he and Entrapta needed to finish the portal. When he asks for Entrapta (who, just moments earlier, Catra had incapacitated), Catra lies and claims that Entrapta was the one who let the Princesses into the Fright Zone. This devastates Hordak, and he tries to refuse it, but ultimately he agreed with Catra to open the portal without Entrapta. When She-Ra destroyed the portal machine, he fled with Catra, but the portal succeeded in sending out a beacon to Horde Prime's ship.

Hordak is shown to be struggling with Entrapta's "betrayal" throughout the season but Catra makes him focus on conquering the plant before Horde Prime arrives. Hordak was introduced to Double Trouble and thanks to the shape sifter's spying, the Horde was able to expand their territory. Just as his army was on the verge of victory; Double Trouble told him about Catra's deception and that Entrapta was sent to Beast Island. Discovering she has been lying to him and what she has done to Entrapta (believing that she was dead), he attempts to destroy Catra. He was unaware of the fact Entrapta was alive and would be coming to the Fright Zone with Bow and Swift Wind soon after she was brought back from Beast Island. During the fight, Cata tells him that Horde Prime doesn't care about him because he is a defect, and that she was the one really running things. Catra defeats Hordak in combat by removing his crystal (a second time). He recovers and tries to attack Glimmer only to be stopped by Bow. It was then Horde Prime's forces finally arrive at Etheria, and Hordak is transported to his ship, where Horde Prime sees that Hordak had changed over the years as he has given himself a name and at one time wished Horde Prime wouldn't come for him. He punishes Hordak for creating his own version of the Horde and believing he could regain his favor by having him taken away by other clones to be "reconditioned."

Across this season, it is made clear that Hordak is not taking being redistributed back into the hive mind as smoothly as Horde Prime intended. Throughout the season, Hordak is conflicted with his allegiance, most notably influenced by the crystal Entrapta installed in his armor prior to his reconditioning. He is forced to face the reality that he is more than just a clone of Horde Prime, after a chance encounter with Entrapta, and being forced to turn his cannon on her, he is able to overwhelm Horde Prime, stating that he is his own person, that he gave himself a name, and that he was even able to make his first real friend, Entrapta. Although this interaction ended in Horde Prime possessing Hordak and using his body as a vessel for the remainder of the season, it serves as a significant development in how he views himself. After Horde Prime is expelled from his body and destroyed by Adora, he reunites with Entrapta and is implied to form a romantic relationship with her after the events of the series.

Trivia

In the Season 3 episode "Huntara", it was revealed that Hordak was a clone of the Emperor of the Known Universe - Horde Prime and Hordak's armor is holding him together due to a defect in his cloning.

He seems skeleton-like in appearance without the armor attached.

The only character to not be scared of him in the Horde, at least not instantly, is Entrapta. Everyone in the Horde, including Adora, Catra and Shadow Weaver, was shown to be afraid of him and what punishments he would inflict if they ever failed, lied, or betrayed him in any way. Entrapta has, on more than one occasion, gone against an order or fought back against a decision with no hesitation or fear whatsoever.

Even after promising Catra she wouldn't go into his lab, Entrapta goes in and when Hordak catches her, he yells at her to leave but she instead tells him time give her a minute to finish her work.

She enters the lab seconds after he told her to leave and is more confused to see her looking around his lab before he could tell her to leave again.

When stating she could never understand his work as she's from a backwater planet, she is not only offended but demands he tells her everything.

Even when he had made up his mind and is getting angrier arguing, Entrapta argues with him to send Catra to the Crimson Waste instead of Beast Island.

She breaks into his lab again after a failed trial and even though Emily attempts to make her leave, she chooses to stay until she sees Hordak without his armor.

Entrapta orders Hordak while grabbing his arms and pushing him against a glass chamber so he couldn't walk away from her, to tell her everything after he collapses from not having his armor on.

She is able to grab him with her hair when preparing his armor and even hits his face with it to stop him from interrupting her when she was speaking.

Besides Entrapta, Double Trouble is the only other person to show no fear towards Hordak when they first meet him. Unlike Entrapta, they were never officially a member of the Horde as they only have an allegiance to themselves and would easily change sides to whatever benefits them the most.

Double Trouble pretends to be Catra when first meeting Hordak and is causing Hordak to get furious until the real Catra shows up. While Hordak seems slightly impressed that Double Trouble is a shapeshifter, he threatens Double Trouble to never deceive him again.

Double Trouble would break into Hordak's lab as Adora despite knowing that no one is allowed in.

They mention how no one is allowed in Hordak's lab since he let in a "certain princess" in, referring to Entrapta. They would change their hair to make themselves resemble Entrapta which quickly angered Hordak and pleased Double Trouble when seeing his reaction.

They start to purposefully antagonize Hordak when telling him that Catra has been lying to him about Entrapta the entire time, tricking him into believing she betrayed him and making him believe that the two were partners when Catra was the one who betrayed him.

Hordak is only one of two people on Etheria who are not from Etheria, the other is Adora.

Hordak's laser cannon pays homage to the one owned by his counterpart from the original series.

The permanence of Hordak's post-reconditioning appearance is up for debate. Rae Geiger, the lead character designer for She-Ra, offered on Twitter that Hordak will likely revert back to his original appearance over time, as red was the color he chose for himself, but that this cannot be shown in canon due to the series already being completed. [1]

During Season Five, Hordak showed no illness or signs of pain from his defect. Whether or not his afflictions were ceased or temporarily suppressed by his reconditioning remains up for debate.

Both Wrong Hordak and Hordak have their hair slightly out of place while the other clones have it pushed back completely.

On Twitter, it was revealed that one of the reasons Hordak trusted Catra about Entrapta's betrayal was because of his insecurities and belief that he didn't deserve friendship.[2]

On Instagram, Noelle Stevenson stated Hordak might not get along with Wrong Hordak as Hordak might feel threatened by him. She also stated Hordak would likely go to Beast Island as community service for his crimes and clean it up with the help of Entrapta, who would decide to follow him. During this process, the two would develop a romantic relationship. [3]

On Twitter and Vimeo, storyboard artist Emily Hu posted a storyboard for Season 5 finale which included a longer scene of Hordak turning against Horde Prime and coming to the realization of his actions and Entrapta comforting him by saying he's free. [4]